Celebration (DVD)

 

 

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The First Lady of MTV has released a massive video compilation with CELEBRATION - THE VIDEO COLLECTION. The video and sound quality is great, especially considering many of the clips were originally shot in the early eighties. It's a real treat to see a young Madonna writhing on a highway in "Burning Up," or her famous Marilyn Monroe imitation in "Material Girl."

The videos are mostly presented as their original, unedited versions, including the short, often clipped intro to "Material Girl" and the Ali G intro and break in the "Music" video. Nice inclusions are older and never-before-released videos for "Live to Tell," "Who's That Girl" and "I'll Remember," all of which include short snipits from various Hollywood films.

Standout videos include the classic "Papa Don't Preach," the mega-hits "Vogue" and "Take a Bow," and, of course, the controversial "Like a Prayer," which features Madonna experiencing sexual ecstasy with a black saint and dancing in a field of burning crosses, a la the film Mississippi Burning. Another notable video is the futuristic, barely-lucid Mark Romanek clip "Bedtime Story," which, interestingly, is stored in the permanent collection at the Museum of Modern Art in New York.

It's hard to believe Madonna couldn't conquer the movies considering her heart wrenching performance in the exceptionally rare video for "I Want You," or her violent alter ego in the MTV-banned "What it Feels Like for a Girl," or her portrayal of Edie Sedgwick in "Deeper & Deeper," an underrated ode to Andy Warhol.

But, that's where CELEBRATION slightly misses the mark. Madonna made the transition from 'entertainer' to 'artist' on the back of her music videos. The exclusion of the hauntingly poetic "Oh Father" is unforgivable. Though it only reached number twenty on the Billboard Hot 100, the Citizen Kane-inspired clip, which told the story of a young girl who was left in the hands of an abusive, alcoholic father after the death of her mother, is simply genius. The same goes for the lamenting and low-charting "Bad Girl" vid, which guest-starred Christopher Walken as an angel delivering the kiss of death to an alcoholic woman with a penchant for casual sex. This David Fincher clip is a brilliant piece of mini-cinema.

As well, CELEBRATION passed on the symbol-heavy "Nothing Really Matters" and "Drowned World," which seemed to be inspired by the death of Princess Diana. It's also hard to believe that the Material-Girl-turned-Ethereal-Girl still refuses to release her hotly-discussed clip for "American Life." If space was the issue, I would have gladly given up the clips for "Crazy for You" and "Into the Groove," which are comprised solely of footage from Vision Quest and Desperately Seeking Susan respectively, or even "Miles Away," which is not much more than a dubbed live performance video.

The final insult to artistic integrity on CELEBRATION is the censoring of the ultra-brief nudity in "Justify My Love." The steamy Jean-Baptiste Mondino clip is a true work of art. In the video world, censoring "Justify" is like putting a loin cloth on Michelangelo's "David."

Despite its faults -- no collection is perfect, after all -- CELEBRATION - THE VIDEO COLLECTION is definitely a must-have! Watching Madonna poke fun at her own raunchy image in "Human Nature" is priceless, and her take on disco cowboys in "Don't Tell Me" is hot Hot HOT! Her Bond-style vid for "Die Another Day" is more than memorable, and "Frozen" will entrance you every time you watch it. Not to mention the award-winning "Ray of Light" clip or her famous collaboration with Justin Timberlake and Timbaland on "4 Minutes." These discs will provide you hours of danceable fun and thought-provoking entertainment. Pick up your copy today!

I think 47 videos for 30 bucks is a pretty good deal, and I haven't noticed any of the problems with picture or sound quality that reviewers have complained about on Amazon.com (probably because I don't have BluRay, surround sound or HD TV--and right now I'm happy about that).

However, I was most annoyed to see censor bars pop up during Justify My Love and Erotica. What were they THINKING? It's the 21st century and Warner Brothers doesn't think we can handle nipples in the privacy of our homes? I don't think I've ever seen this before. Usually, when you buy something on DVD, you get the uncensored version.

I have been searching on the Internet, and sadly it appears that there is no uncensored version of Celebration. Even the Europeans are getting nipples coyly hidden from them.

In time I will get over it and enjoy watching the tamer videos that did not "require" WB's heavy-handed treatment, but right now I NOT happy. I am subtracting 2 stars for the censorship.

Madonna Celebration DVD Track Listing:

01) Burning Up
02) Lucky Star
03) Borderline
04) Like A Virgin
05) Material Girl
06) Crazy For You
07) Into The Groove
08) Live To Tell
09) Paper Don't Preach
10) True Blue
11) Open Your Heart
12) La Isla Bonita
13) Who's That Girl
14) Like A Prayer
15) Express Yourself
16) Cherish
17) Vogue
18) Justify My Love
19) Erotica
20) Deeper and Deeper
21) Rain
22) I'll Remember
23) Secret
24) Take A Bow
25) Bedtime Story
26) Human Nature
27) I Want You
28) You'll See
29) Frozen
30) Ray Of Light
31) The Power Of Good-Bye
32) Beautiful Stranger
33) American Pie
34) Music
35) Don't Tell Me
36) What It Feels Like For A Girl
37) Die Another Day
38) Hollywood
39) Love Profusion
40) Hung Up
41) Sorry
42) Get Together
43) Jump
44) 4 Minutes
45) Give It 2 Me
46) Miles Away
47) Celebration

I'm giving it only 4 stars because it's missing a lot of videos (Dress You Up, Oh Father, Dear Jessie, This Used To Be My Playground, Bad Girl, Fever, Love Don't Live Here Anymore, Drowned World/Substitute For Love, Nothing Really Matters, Me Against The Music and American Life among others).

=(

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4.0 out of 5 stars Good, but missing some good video
This is a good compilation of Madonna's videoclip, the quality is also very good (video and sound). But many good video are missing, so it's not a COMPLETE collection.

Published on Sep 30 2009 by Stephane Tanguay

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